TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The chief executive of the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said the company plans to deliver eight more aircraft to Iran by the year’s end.

ATR aims to deliver another eight aircraft to Iran by the end of the year after delivering six so far this year under US export licenses issued following the lifting of anti-Tehran sanctions in 2016, Christian Scherer said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

On September 28, Iran took delivery of two ATR 72-600 aircraft at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport.

They were the fifth and sixth ATR planes Iran has received since May.

Since the coming into force of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran has received a total of nine new planes, including three Airbus passenger planes and 6 ATR turboprops.

Iran Air and the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR spent months negotiating an order for 20 ATR 72-600 aircraft worth $576 million at list prices, with options for another 20.

Iran is gradually receiving the passenger planes purchased from Airbus, ATR , and Boeing, following the implementation of the JCPOA, the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

During a January 2016 visit to Paris by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Tehran signed a major contract with Airbus worth about $27 billion to buy 118 planes.

Later in June 2016, Iran sealed another deal worth around $25 billion with the US aerospace heavyweight, Boeing, for the purchase of 100 passenger planes.

In December 2016, the deal with Boeing was finalized, allowing Iran to buy 80 planes within 10 years.